


Close Proximity

by ahausonfire (thisiswherethefishlives)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Sad Ending, Unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 12:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13524417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiswherethefishlives/pseuds/ahausonfire
Summary: In the grand scheme of things, agreeing to go on vacation with the object of his unrequited affections probably isn’t the brightest decision that Will’s ever made...





	Close Proximity

In the grand scheme of things, agreeing to go on vacation with the object of his unrequited affections probably isn’t the brightest decision that Will’s ever made.

It probably wouldn’t make it into the top ten, and from the concerned glances that Chowder keeps sending his way, it’s probably a little lower down than that.

But here’s the thing.

Will’s never pretended that he’s been good at making the right call. There’s a difference between fixing things and making decisions. And. He can wield a hammer. He can fix a stove. He can fix pretty much anything that needs fixing, but right now? This thing he’s been harboring? It’s not something that can be patched up.

It’s not something he can fix, and he’s never been good at making the right decision, and right now, he’ll settle for anything that can help him get over whatever the fuck it is that’s got him lingering on Derek Nurse.

Because Derek Nurse is a sure thing, in that he’s not interested. In that he’s aware of Will’s feelings. In that he said _‘no’_ , and _‘chill’_ , and _‘thanks for trusting me with this moment’_.

So, yeah. When Nursey asks him to come visit for part of winter break, despite Will fucking up, despite him making the wrong call - _the honest call_ \- Will does the only thing he can. He says yes where Derek Nurse said no. Because after months of being unable to pry his unrequited, lingering feelings out from underneath his skin, he’s ready to try anything.

* * *

 

It turns out that going on vacation with Derek Nurse is a lot like living with Nursey in general, and the fact that Will had thought that it would be different - that there would be some distinction between his partner on the ice and the person he’d set his sights on… well, he’s never claimed to be the brightest…

But, yeah. All this close proximity isn’t that different from the time they spend at school. The difference is that it could be. That it could be something more.

If Will’s confession had gone better - been smoother - been more mutually received - this entire exercise in pining would have been different. They could have been holding hands, or cuddling, or sharing soft glances. Maybe they could have called each other _‘babe’_ and _‘sweetheart’_ and _‘shithead’_ underneath the covers. Maybe they could have kissed in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - in front of the Empire State building - in front of the Natural History Museum.

They could have been kissing _everywhere_.

But.

That’s not what happens at all.

Instead there is chirping. And fist-bumps. And claps on the back. And a lot of almost moments where Will thinks _maybe_ only to remember his place.

Because for all that he wants Derek Nurse - for all that he pines for him and for all that he aches - he already did all that he could without being a dick about it. And for all that Will has Big Feelings™, he’s not about to beg.

Because he gets it.

Derek Nurse is the kind of person that fills up a room.

He’s funny and infuriating, and he’s brilliant and stupid all at once, and he’s gorgeous. He’s one of the best people Will’s ever met - one of the best friends he’s ever made - and, in hindsight, it was an inevitability that Will would fall for him.

And. In hindsight. It-

Well, it makes sense that he didn’t feel the same.

* * *

 

Eight days.

Eight days of one-on-one time with Derek Nurse, and then Will’s saying goodbye. He’s packing his bags, and he’s pretending he didn’t lose sleep crying his sad gay tears the night before, and he’s going home.

He’s going home with a punch to the shoulder, a collection of candies that his Ma won’t forgive him for (she’s doing Weight Watchers again, but Derek had insisted), and the realization that he had been holding out for something more. That it was time to really move on, because-

Because apparently it wasn’t enough for Derek to tell him he wasn’t interested.

Because, _apparently_ , Will had made the right call for once.

Because after eight days of Derek Nurse showing Will that he didn’t want him… _showing_ instead of telling… it finally, finally, sank in.

And yeah.

Will hoists his bag to his shoulder, waves a final goodbye, and knows with a quiet certainty that he’ll never be anything more to Derek Nurse than Dex.


End file.
